The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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Paternal Family Tree: Brugge
On 2nd February 1695 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 22) and [his mother] Mary Lake (age 26) were married.
On 1st February 1708 Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos was born to [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 35) and [his mother] Mary Lake (age 39).
On 15th September 1712 [his mother] Mary Lake (age 44) died. She was buried at Chandos Mausoleum Church of St Lawrence Whitchurch Lane Little Stanmore.
On 4th August 1713 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 40) and [his step-mother] Cassandra Willoughby Duchess Chandos (age 43) were married. They were half first cousins.
On 16th October 1714 [his grandfather] James Brydges 8th Baron Chandos (age 72) died at Aconbury, Herefordshire. His son [his father] James (age 41) succeeded 9th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, 4th Baronet Brydges of Wilton in Herefordshire. [his step-mother] Cassandra Willoughby Duchess Chandos (age 44) by marriage Baroness Chandos of Sudeley.
On 19th October 1714 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 41) was created 1st Earl Carnarvon, 1st Viscount Wilton. [his step-mother] Cassandra Willoughby Duchess Chandos (age 44) by marriage Countess Carnarvon.
In 1719 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 45) was created 1st Duke Chandos, 1st Marquess Carnarvon. [his step-mother] Cassandra Willoughby Duchess Chandos (age 48) by marriage Duchess Chandos.
On 21st December 1728 Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 20) and Mary Bruce (age 18) were married. She the daughter of Charles Bruce 4th Earl Elgin 3rd Earl Ailesbury (age 46) and Anne Savile. He the son of James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 55) and Mary Lake. They were fifth cousins.
In 1729 [his daughter] Caroline Brydges was born to Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 20) and [his wife] Mary Bruce (age 19). She married 10th March 1755 her second cousin James Leigh and had issue.
On 27th December 1731 [his son] James Brydges 3rd Duke Chandos was born to Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 23) and [his wife] Mary Bruce (age 21). He married (1) 22nd March 1753 Margaret Nicol (2) 1777 Anne Eliza Gamon Duchess Chandos and had issue.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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On 18th April 1736 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 63) and Lydia Catherine Van Hatten Duchess Chandos were married. She by marriage Duchess Chandos.
On 14th August 1738 [his wife] Mary Bruce (age 28) died.
On 9th August 1744 [his father] James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos (age 71) died at Cannons House Little Stanmore. He was buried at Chandos Mausoleum Church of St Lawrence Whitchurch Lane Little Stanmore. His son Henry (age 36) succeeded 2nd Duke Chandos, 2nd Marquess Carnarvon, 2nd Earl Carnarvon, 2nd Viscount Wilton, 10th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, 5th Baronet Brydges of Wilton in Herefordshire.
On 25th December 1744 Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 36) and Anne Wells Duchess Chandos were married at Keith's Chapel, Mayfair. She by marriage Duchess Chandos. Two versions of their meeting are related... He the son of James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos and Mary Lake.
Notes & Queries 1870 4th Series, Vol. 6, p.179: Lord Omery remarked, on 15th January 1745, "Of her person & character people speak variously, but all agree that both are very bad." He was speaking of Anne, Duchess of Chandos. She was the daughter of one John Wells of Newbury (& St. Marylebone) whose arms appear as azure, three fountains proper, on her hatchment at Keynsham Church. She was chambermaid at the Pelican Inn Newbury, and married to Jeffries the Ostler there. There is a story about the Duchess told by an old lady of Newbury, who was ten years old at the time. Henry Bridges, 2nd Duke of Chandos, while on his way to London, dined at the Pelican Inn in Newbury, with a companion (it has been claimed that the Inn was the Marlborough Castle, but this is incorrect). After dinner there was a stir and a bustle in the Inn Yard. The explanation came that "A man is going to sell his wife and they are leading her up the yard with a halter round her neck". "We will go and see the sale, " said the Duke. On entering the yard, however, he was so smitten with the woman's beauty and the patient way she waited to be set free from her ill‑conditioned husband, the Inn's ostler, that he bought her himself. She was his mistress for some years. In August 1738 his wife died, and by 1744 the ostler was dead also, and the two were finally married at Mr. Keith's Chapel, Mayfair on 25th December 1744.
The Gentleman's Magazine 1832. The Duke of Chandos, while staying at a small country inn, saw the ostler beating his wife in a most cruel manner; he interfered and literally bought her for half a crown. She was a young and pretty woman; the Duke had her educated; and on the husband's death he married her. On her death-bed, she had her whole household assembled, told them her history, and drew from it a touching moral of reliance on Providence; as from the most wretched situation, she had been suddenly raised to one of the greatest prosperity; she entreated their forgiveness if at any time she had given needless offence, and then dismissed them with gifts; dying almost in the very act.
On 22nd March 1753 James Brydges 3rd Duke Chandos (age 21) and Margaret Nicol were married. He the son of Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 45) and Mary Bruce.
On 10th March 1755 [his son-in-law] James Leigh (age 31) and Caroline Brydges (age 26) were married. She the daughter of Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 47) and Mary Bruce. They were second cousins.
In 1767 Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 58) and Elizabeth Major Duchess of Chandos (age 36) were married. She by marriage Duchess Chandos. The difference in their ages was 22 years. He the son of James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos and Mary Lake.
On 28th November 1771 Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos (age 63) died. His son James (age 39) succeeded 3rd Duke Chandos, 3rd Marquess Carnarvon, 3rd Earl Carnarvon, 3rd Viscount Wilton, 11th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, 6th Baronet Brydges of Wilton in Herefordshire.
In 1813 [his former wife] Elizabeth Major Duchess of Chandos (age 82) died.
Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 17 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 23 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 18 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 21 Grand Son of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 18 Grand Son of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 27 Grand Son of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 24 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Brydges 1st Baron Chandos
Great x 3 Grandfather: Charles Brydges 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Grey Baroness Chandos 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Giles Brydges 1st Baronet 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Carne
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Carne 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Brydges 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Brydges 2nd Baronet 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Scudamore 12 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Scudamore 13 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elynor Croft
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Scudamore Lady Bridges 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Throckmorton of Tortworth 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Throckmorton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Berkeley 
8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandFather: James Brydges 8th Baron Chandos 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Father: James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Barnard
GrandMother: Elizabeth Barnard Baroness Chandos
Henry Brydges 2nd Duke Chandos 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Almeric Lake 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Lake
Great x 1 Grandfather: Lancelot Lake
Great x 2 Grandmother: Mary Rider
GrandFather: Thomas Lake 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Cheke
Great x 3 Grandfather: Henry Cheeke
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Cheeke 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Humphrey Radclyffe 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Frances Radclyffe 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Harvey
Great x 1 Grandmother: Frances Cheeke 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Rich 2nd Baron Rich of Leez 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Rich 1st Earl Warwick
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Baldry Baroness Rich Leez
Great x 2 Grandmother: Essex Rich 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Devereux 1st Earl Essex 
6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Lettice Knollys Countess Essex and Leicester 
6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Mother: Mary Lake 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Langham 1st Baronet
GrandMother: Rebecca Langham